Sculpture affords a wide variety of options for the sale of art, involving both the transfer of an object, and the transfer of rights of sale or reproduction.
The artist sculpts some material into the desired form, which could be the end sculpture for use or sale, or could be the basis for making molds which can be used to cast finished sculptures. Usually only the sculpture will be sold, but the mold and the right to use it to cast statues could also be saleable. All of these could be considered originals. Typically, if one buys a cast of a statue, even an ãoriginalä cast, the copyright remains with the creator; the purchaser cannot then sell further copies of the statue.
One level removed, molds can be made of the finished statue, and used to cast copies. These can be distinguished from the originals in two ways. First, because they are one generation removed from the original, the quality is likely to diminish to some degree. Second, in the case of a copyrighted work, this copying would require the permission of the copyright holder. Copies can also be made by other means, such as directly sculpting a new piece of material in the image of the original. This, too, would require licensing or permission. Lowest on the scale of physical reproductions are small-scale figurines, which could be handmade or mass-produced; copies of famous statues can be found ranging from expensive, high-quality, legally licensed replicas to cheap, shoddy, illegal imitations.
Two-dimensional replicas, such as paintings and photographs, are also possible. These are unique in that they both require copyright permission from the owner of the statue, and afford the possibility of a separate copyright on the reproduction (e.g. photograph) itself, here assigned to the photographer.
The right to view a sculpture, like other works of art, is also a saleable experience, as evidenced from the prices that some museums are able to charge for admission tickets. Such viewers, e.g. museum visitors, are generally allowed to take photographs of the work for their own use but not for reproduction or distribution, under ãfair useä guidelines (although photographs are often prohibited inside museums for non-legal reasons, such as the well-being of the art or to avoid annoying other visitors).
It's somewhat unclear where computer reproductions and models of sculpture fit into this scheme, but it tentatively appears that they will be analogous to photographs, such that, even when created by machine, they are considered a separate work of art that can be assigned its own protection and separate ownership under copyright law.